The metro site being turned into 1500 homes on Sydney’s north shore

A former Sydney Metro construction site on Sydney’s north shore will be converted into as many as 1500 new homes, including 180 build-to-rent apartments for essential workers, and an old boys’ boarding school will be repurposed into a community space as part of the development.

State government developer Landcom has planned the site on Mowbray Road in Chatswood to include some affordable apartments, shops and outdoor areas.

This will be the second site secured under the Minns government’s $450 million investment in 400 build-to-rent homes for essential workers in Sydney. There are already 220 essential worker homes being developed in Annandale.

Landcom’s draft masterplan for Chatswood includes the construction of 180 build-to-rent apartments to be held in perpetuity and offered to health workers, paramedics, teachers, police officers and firefighters.

There would be a further 1300 apartments for sale on the private market, with some dedicated to affordable housing with a mix of apartment sizes. The site is within walking distance of public transport, including Chatswood metro station and heavy rail.

A heritage building Mowbray House, which operated as a boys’ boarding school from 1906 to 1954, would also be repurposed for future community use.

Premier Chris Minns said “essential workers are the backbone of not only Sydney but all of NSW, and they deserve an affordable place to live near their job and community”.

“This will be life-changing for essential workers, who will get to live not only near their job but in one of the best-connected areas in all of Sydney,” Minns said.

Housing essential workers is a major challenge for the Minns government. A parliamentary inquiry this year heard that housing is so scarce in parts of NSW that employers rent properties on behalf of hospitality staff, and some public health workers resort to sleeping in cars to avoid long commutes.

The select committee inquiry into essential worker housing, chaired by Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, found that these workers – broadly defined as working face to face providing key services – have been the forgotten group in the government’s housing policies.

The inquiry was initiated after eight independent MPs and unions formed an alliance to demand the Minns government deliver affordable housing for nurses, teachers and paramedics as part of its sweeping changes to planning laws.

Building on the Chatswood site, a dive site during the construction of the CBD metro, is expected to start in late 2026. The first essential workers are expected to move in by late 2028.

Work is also under way on new build-to-rent apartments on the NSW South Coast, and work is set to start this year on new build-to-rent housing in Lismore to boost rental supply in the NSW Northern Rivers.

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